Ch. 4 What is Human Nature

Children like Anna, who have experienced long periods of isolation, illustrate how:

"human nature" is the result of a complex relationship between nature (biology) and nurture (the social environment).

Concepts such as I, me, and generalized other are part of which theorist's work?

George Herbert Mead

Which theory uses game playing to understand the development of self?

Mead's role-playing theory

In managing impressions, people rarely challenge the credentials of an actor, even when they suspect that a false impression is being created. Which of the following reasons does NOT explain this tendency?

People feel sorry for others who cannot pull off false impressions.

Most sociologists (and biologists) argue that race is a human invention, or is socially constructed. Which of the following statements does NOT highlight how race is socially constructed?

People speak different languages.

Which of the following scenarios provides an example of front-stage behavior?

Sally discovers her mother-in-law is dropping by shortly, so Sally rushes to tidy up the house.

In terms of how we feel about ourselves, which of the following statements would Charles Horton Cooley argue is NOT true?

We are affected more by how people react to our behavior than by how we interpret their reactions.

Which of the following is the best example of an achieved status?

a newly ordained minister in a Pentecostal church

An ascribed status is one:

a person has little or no control over.

Front-stage mistakes, such as if your sociology professor accidently trips as she walks into class one day, are known as:

breaches.

Two young men are on an elevator together. After briefly acknowledging each other's presence, they politely ignore each other for the remainder of the ride. Goffman would refer to this behavior as an example of:

civic inattention.

Which of the following is NOT an example of a given-off gesture?

consciously stifling a laugh when someone walks into the class with toilet paper on his or her shoe

Harold Garfinkel developed an approach to studying human interaction that focused on how people produce (and maintain) a mutually shared social order. This method was called:

ethnomethodology.

Unconscious signals of our true feelings, such as nonverbal behaviors, are known by Goffman as:

given-off gestures.

According to Charles Horton Cooley, we develop a self-concept by:

interpreting how others think about us.

Today's assumption that childhood represents a distinct phase in the life course stands in sharp contrast to the notion of children as little adults that was popular in preindustrial times. This example highlights how:

our notions of childhood are socially constructed.

A good deal of impression management can be said to involve teamwork. Which of the following is NOT an example of teamwork?

pedestrians on a street gathering to watch someone jump from a building

Janet has a paper due in her English class, a test in her psychology class, and field notes due in her anthropology class this week. On top of it all, she needs to meet with her advisor to plan out classes for next semester. Janet is experiencing:

role strain.

Expectations that define appropriate or inappropriate behavior for the occupants of a particular status are called:

roles

According to Goffman, the main goal of impression management is to:

save face.